I Hart this place!

We spent this last weekend in the great outdoors, camping in Santa Cruz, just steps away from the beach!  While it was relaxing and I finally seemed to get some summer color to my skin, I was especially excited to take an excursion to town for shopping.  Our first stop was at Harts Fabric, a long-standing fabulous fabric shop.  I may not be a stellar seamstress (yet, maybe one day!), but this inspiring shop had my creative juices flowing!  Perusing through the isles of beautiful fabrics and seeing the adorable project displays, I couldn't help but want to sew my heart out!  My mom and I agreed that if this shop was closer to home we would be taking classes there all the time!  Well...maybe it's good it isn't close to home, I could easily become a sewing fanatic!  

 

The essentials

Things have pretty bust around our house the last week or so, and it's made me realize how much I appreciate when I have time to make a home cooked meal.  Not only is it cheaper to make a meal at home, but I enjoy being able to make something tasty to enjoy with my family and friends. 
There are several things I always have on hand in the kitchen to either make an impromptu dish or fix a well planned feast.

Chicken breasts, having a 10 lb bag of chicken breast on hand never goes to waste!  Chicken is often my go-to protein since it can be made simple by throwing in a barbeque chicken pizza or fancied up by stuffing the chicken breast with delicious goodies.
White grape juice, this is a great substitute when a recipe calls for white wine. 
Chicken broth, whether its mixed into a savory soup or added into risotto, having broth on hand makes cooking many dishes super easy
Onions, no matter the style of the dish--Italian, Mexican or Greek--onions add crunch and a little bite that I love
Garlic, the pungent flavor of garlic is something I love in dishes from meatballs to potatoes
Extra virgin olive oil, this is a must have in my kitchen to pan sear or oven roast meats and vegetables

Makes me want to get in the kitchen & get cookin!

Make it over: old art deco side table to new cottage nightstand

When we were just moving into our house, I decided to make a stop at Goodwill to "just look around", but as soon I spotted this table, I knew I wouldn't be leaving empty handed.  Even though I wasn't quite sure at the time what I'd do with this table I feel in love with the lines and for only $6 I couldn't pass it up. 

This little table had so much potential!  I used left over white and gray paint from previous painting projects, so all I had to do was buy the turquoise paint. 

I'm definitely glad I didn't pass by this table when I first saw it!  

Finders Keepers: room additions

Over the last couple of weeks I've found a few items that I knew would be great additions a few rooms in the house. The bright orange clock was a find from Target and the yellow flower pouf and gray linen pillow were found by accident at TJ Maxx. I was very excited to spot the yellow pouf since I've been wanting one but they seem to always be pretty pricey. This one though was under $20! While the style of each of these accessories are vastly different, they enhance the style in each of the rooms I've added them to.

The flower pouf is a nice addition to our living room especially for an extra seat for guests.  The contemporary style of the pouf goes well in the living room's contemporary country feel.

The gray linen pillow looks lovely in our den with it's growing cottage style.

The bright orange clock adds an additional punch of fun color in our retro style guest bathroom.

 

A get well gift

On Saturday I went with my parents to see one of my aunts who is starting the recovery process after having back surgery.  I was so glad I could go with them to visit her and make her laugh.  I wanted to bring her a little gift to say "get well" and although it's the middle of the summer, homemade soup still sounded like the perfect choice.  Friday I prepped, cooked and canned (my first canning experience!) creamy butternut squash soup to bring to her, of course doubling the batch so Clint and I could enjoy some.  Come to find out my aunt loves butternut squash so I picked the right soup to make!

 I added a little bit of scrapbook paper on the lid before I put the ring around the jar

a simple tag finishes off the gift

 

After making and canning this scrumptious gift, I feel like getting ready for making fun Christmas goodies to give away...but I guess I'll wait until December!  ; )

Name calling

One of my best girlfriends will be changing her last name soon cause she's getting married!  I wanted one of the gifts I gave her for her bridal shower to be something she can hang in her home, so I made a sign with her new last name.  It was easy to make and I plan on making one for my home too!

This cute little sign happened to start out from this...

A wooden pallet...who woulda thought?

My sweet husband cute the slat down to the right size so I could sand it.

I then did a paint and water wash to give the sign color.  When that dried I used tracing paper under the printed out letters (I just picked fonts I liked and printed it out on computer paper).  After the letters were transferred onto the sign I then simply followed the lines with the color of paint I wanted the letters to be (sorry no pictures of that). When that dried I sprayed a coat of clear matte spray paint to finish off the front of the sign.

I then attached a hanger thingy (that may not be the technical term for it!) so it can be hung up if desired, and I of course had to sign it.

Just a fun little sign to hopefully add to her home and celebrate taking on a new last name! 

A seed of faith

Over the course of just a couple of days we've had the opportunity to talk with some very close friends and neighbors about things that are very important to us, our faith.  Without any planning or forewarning the topic of our beliefs came up naturally in several situations this weekend and it was a wonderful opportunity to not only share what we believe but reflect upon how our lives have been blessed by trying our best to live what we believe.  Mind you we are not perfect by any means, but I'm grateful that I can work on the little seeds of faith that we have to try to cultivate it into beautiful blossoms.  It just so happened that I also had to teach a lesson to the young women at church today on testimonies and building upon a little seed of faith. 

I hope that I can keep adding a little "miracle grow" to continue to build up my faith!